


Shopping at Crossroads

by fandoms_girl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/F, Rule 63
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-22
Updated: 2012-10-22
Packaged: 2017-11-16 19:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/543087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandoms_girl/pseuds/fandoms_girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Deanna and Samantha Winchester find themselves at a shopping complex where people keep disappearing and showing up dead. Except, it's not just humans who are being killed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Special thanks to indecisivelyincisive for being my beta reader and so many other things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shopping at Crossroads

            “I am not going in there. I refuse,” Deanna Winchester glared up at her younger sister.

            “Dea, you lost the coin toss. I get to investigate the food court and boutiques, you get to look into the nefarious happens in the overpriced department stores,” Samantha grinned darkly.

            “I, but, you…” Deanna tried to retaliate.

            “Later, girl,” Sami called as she walked hurriedly away.

            “Next time, we’re doing rock, paper, scissors,” Deanna grumbled, “Hey, Cassie, don’t suppose you’d be up for joining me in these sticker shock hell holes?”

            Deanna looked around hopefully, but no angel appeared.

            “Coward,” Deanna hissed.

            “Excuse me?” Cassie said from behind her. Deanna jumped.

            “Jesus, why did you…?” Deanna gestured nonspecifically with her hands.

            “I was busy with something else. I came as quickly as I could,” a small frown appeared in the middle of Cassie’s forehead, “You are all right, aren’t you?” Concern was evident on her face.

            “Physically, sure. Just peachy. Emotionally, this is going to be traumatic. I might even need someone to hold me,” Deanna looked askance at the angel, but she seemed not to notice the hint in the sarcasm.

            Rolling her eyes, Deanna strolled into the first department store, Cassie in toe. The hunter walked slowly through the racks, stopping every now and then to look at a piece of clothing like she was a normal shopper. At one point, a strangled gasp escaped her lips.

            “Deanna? What is it?” Cassie was anxious.

            “They want $317. For one shirt. I don’t even know who the hell has this kind of money,” Deanna walked away, shaking her head.

            “You and Sami are here on a job, yes?” Cassie inquired.

            “Yeah. Random disappearances from this mall. People keep showing up dead a few days later. The police and the mall are trying to keep it quiet. They think it’s bad for business and moral if they broadcast the fact that there’s some sort of serial killer, and they have no real leads,” Deanna explained quickly to Cassie, as she tried and failed to avoid catching the eye of an overly helpful saleswoman.

            “Oh, Christ,” Deanna muttered between her teeth, arranging her features into some sort of complacent grin as the other woman approached,

            “Hello! My name’s Belle! How are you? Is there anything I can help you with today? Maybe start a collection in the fitting room for you?” her tone was perky, and she seemed to vibrate with energy.

            “Erm…” Deanna started, cut off by Belle.

            “Or maybe you’d like to come upstairs and enjoy a latte while I act as your personal shopper,” Belle withdrew a computer tablet from the bag on her shoulder, “Our entire collection can be accessed through our app! It’s only $5 if you want to download it yourself!”

            “Uh, sure. I guess I’ll go upstairs. You wouldn’t happen to have pie would you? And, uh, I don’t suppose you’ve noticed anything strange going on?” Deanna winced as Cassie nudged her with an elbow to get her back on track.

            Belle’s smile fell for just a second before she covered herself. “I don’t know what you mean, strange. Everything’s been pretty normal lately. Now, if you’ll follow me,” she started walking towards an escalator.

            Deanna and Cassie exchanged a significant look, and the hunter calmly wrapped her fingers around the small pistol in her jacket pocket as they followed the sales associate.

            They were led into a dimly lit café, which was clearly trying to pass itself off as European.

            “So, about that pie?” Deanna began, shifting her feet covertly into a fighting stance.

            “Oh, I really don’t think that matters right now,” said Belle, eyes flashing black as her pretense faded.

            “Shit,” hissed Deanna as Cassie moved next to her, clearly ready to fight the demon.

            The sound of a finger snap caused all three of them to turn. A woman stood in the doorway of the café, tapping an irritated black heel on the hardwood floor.         

            “Now that’s enough of that, don’t you think?” said the Queen of Hell.

            Deanna dropped the pistol which had started to burn her, Cassie massaged her temple like her head was aching, and Belle was frozen to the spot.

            “Crowley? You’re the one kidnapping and killing people?” Deanna spat at the demon.

            “Deanna, it’s a damn good thing you’re pretty. No. I’m not. Well, that’s not entirely true. I am killing people. Just not the people from here,” a sliver of a smile played across Crowley’s lips as she conjured a latte out of the air.

            Deanna’s eyes followed the demon’s every move as she calmly sat down on a leather chair as if it were a throne.

            “Please. Sit. We need to talk,” she gestured to the empty loveseat across from her, “And Belle, wait outside.”

            Belle opened her mouth to argue with her boss, but a sharp look from Crowley caused her to exit without saying a word. Deanna and Cassie cautiously sat down.

            “There’s something here that’s killing humans and demons. I lost two crossroads demons in the past week here. Normally, I would just assume it was your handiwork. But you didn’t show up until yesterday. Crossroads demons only come when summoned. So, you understand why I find this disturbing,” Crowley explained, keeping her expression neutral.

            “So there are a few fewer demons in the world. Boo-hoo. Why should I care?” Deanna growled.

            “Because, you twat, whatever it was that killed my demons tried to summon and kill me. I escaped and hedged my bet that you and your sister would come poking around. Because I don’t like it when things try to kill me. And you shouldn’t either,” the Queen of Hell sipped her latte as she spoke stiffly.

            “Why the hell should I care if you’re still around or not? As far as I’m concerned, you deserve to die just as much as any other demon,” Deanna said vindictively.

            “You should care, Deanna,” Cassie said calmly, as she stared unblinkingly at Crowley, “If she dies, Hell could face a similar civil war to what Heaven has experienced. And I promise you thousands if not millions of humans would end up dead because of it. She’s keeping order, believe it or not.”

            “While I will never need an angel to fight my battles for me, she is nevertheless correct,” Crowley remarked.

            Deanna mumbled incomprehensively, and Cassie calmly took the hunter’s hand in her own. Deanna jumped slightly and gave the angel’s fingers a slight squeeze. Crowley rolled her eyes at their interaction, though something that might have been a grin danced on her lips for a split second.

            “Now, perhaps, we might be able to get to the reason I brought you here?” Crowley said, tapping a perfectly manicured nail on the arm rest of her chair.

            “Please. Enlighten me,” Deanna drawled.

            “I want to make…an arrangement with you. Not a deal, mind you. Just an arrangement. I’ll call off my demons. No deals, no deaths, until we solve this problem,” Crowley said, outlining her idea.

            “‘We’? What ‘we’ are you talking about? Because if you mean you working with me, Sami, and Cassie, you are out of your damn mind,” Deanna said vehemently.

            “Deanna,” Cassie said calmly, catching the hunter’s eye. Deanna and the angel stared at each other for a long moment, an argument and a conciliation happening unspoken between them.

            Crowley arched an eyebrow, waiting for the others to speak.

            “Fine,” Deanna finally said, glaring at the Queen of Hell, “But only because I want to stop people from dying and I want to kill whatever son of a bitch is doing this. After we do that, you bet your ass I’m going to come after you again. With everything I’ve got.”

            “Excellent,” Crowley purred, slipping, catlike, to her feet. She held out a hand to shake on the deal.

            Deanna tentatively took Crowley’s hand, gripping it as hard as she could on a sudden impulse. Crowley merely smirked, and a wave of darkness and nausea caused Deanna to clench her jaw and blink profusely as she let go.

            “I would imagine we’ll be seeing one another quite soon,” Crowley remarked, “Until then, I believe you can see yourselves out.”

            With one last half smirk, Crowley vanished. Deanna hissed imprecations into the empty air as her balance faltered.

            “Come on,” said Cassie, putting her arm around Deanna’s shoulders and leading her to an exit, “You need to tell Sami what we’ve done. And you need to eat something. You look drained.”

            “That bitch did something to me before she left,” Deanna said, leaning against Cassie.

            “Yes, well. She is the Queen of Hell, and you are quite rude sometimes,” Cassie said as they left the store.

            “Since when are you such a diplomat?” Deanna demanded, tripping over her own feet, despite the angel’s help.

            “Since I lost most of my family. Since I killed a lot of my family. All over something stupid,” Cassie said, dully and darkly, “And here.”

            Cassie steadied the hunter again and gently kissed Deanna’s forehead. Deanna closed her eyes contentedly as the nausea faded away. Her face tingled where Cassie’s lips had been.  

            “I’m hungry. Let’s find the food. And Sami too,” Deanna murmured.

***

            “Let me just recap here,” Sami began, voice dripping with angry sarcasm as she glared at her sister.

            Deanna rolled her eyes as she drove past the “Crossroads Plaza” sign a few blocks down from the mall. Sami hadn’t taken the news that they were working with Crowley very well.

            “You and Cassie got tricked into a meeting with the Queen of Hell, who you then proceeded to make a deal with in order to figure out what’s killing people around here. That about right?” Sami hissed at her sister.

            “One, we didn’t get tricked. We got sweet-talked. I thought there was pie. Two, it’s not a deal, it’s an arrangement. And three, yeah, otherwise you’ve got it,” Deanna said blandly.

            Cassie sat in the backseat behind Deanna and watched the sisters bicker without comment.

            “Really, Cassie, you just let her make this stupid ass decision?” Sami said, turning to the angel.

            “I thought it was the right decision. Please do not drag me into the middle of this,” Cassie implored, “I have no control over Deanna or Crowley.”

            “Well, you’re right about the second part, at least. I think you have rather more control over Deanna than you know,” Crowley remarked, having suddenly appeared in the backseat of the Impala behind Sami. Both sisters swore profusely, and the car swerved.

            “God dammit, would people stop just appearing in this damn car when I’m trying to drive!” Deanna yelled, “That’s the second time you’ve pulled that stunt, you raging bitch.”

            “Well, excuse me. I sincerely doubt you’d answer the phone if I tried to call you, and this is more convenient for me. I think I have a lead you should help me chase down,” Crowley informed them.

            “Why should we do it? Why can’t you do it alone?” Deanna growled.

            “Because I’ve already done quite a lot of legwork while you were stuffing your face with burgers and pie. Carbs make you fat, you know,” Crowley remarked, obviously giving Deanna an up and down look.

            “Fuck off,” Deanna responded eloquently.

            “That was a cheap shot for you,” Sami hissed at Crowley.

            “Yes, well. They can’t all be winners, Moose,” the demon drawled, “Now, if we could return to the point.” Crowley reached into her coat pocket and withdrew a gilded envelope and a stack of papers.

            “If my spies are correct, whoever has been offing people will be at this party tonight. We’ve identified four people who have the…capabilities to do something like these murders,” she explained, handing papers to Sami and the envelope to Cassie, who read it aloud.

            “‘Come to the Fundraising Gala of the Year! This is One Soiree You Won’t Want to Miss! White Tie Attire, and Tickets Starting at…’” Cassie trailed off, “That is a lot of money for one ticket to one event.”

            “We don’t exactly have a lot of money, Crowley. Unless you float us a loan, how the hell are we going to get in the door? And don’t even get me started on ‘White Tie’ bit. I own nothing that would even remotely pass at something like that,” Deanna grumbled.

            “You know, Deanna, if you made a deal with me all those little problems would go away. You’ve been to Hell before. What’s the difference now?” Crowley mused.

            There was a pause for a split second as Deanna reacted. Pulling an illegal U-turn, she parked the car in a loading bay behind a grocery store. She turned to face Crowley, and found that Cassie had beaten her to the punch.

            The angel had her teeth bared and was pushing the tip of her sword against the Queen of Hell’s throat.

            “You don’t have the right to talk to her about deals or Hell. Do you understand?” Cassie’s voice was a snarl.

            Crowley stared levelly at Cassie, carefully using the back of her hand to nudge the blade away. “There’s no need to overreact. I’m simply stating the obvious. And, I suppose I can give you the money. And actual clothing.”

            “At what cost?” Sami demanded.

            “Free. From the goodness of my…nope. Can’t say it. It’s too amusing,” Crowley snickered.

            “Free-free or one-day-a-hellhound-is-going-to-show-up-and-eat-me free?” Deanna demanded.

            “You’re just going to have to trust me,” Crowley said with a half-smile before vanishing.

            “Son of a bitch,” Deanna hissed as she maneuvered the car back out into traffic, “Like hell I trust her. I need a drink.”

***

            “Should we be worried that the Queen of Hell seems to be able to find us no matter where we go or what protection we use?” Sami asked, turning over a garment bag in her hands.

            “She’s probably got something planted on us or in the car again,” Deanna mused, glaring at another garment bag as if she was trying to will it to burst into flames.

            “At least she has what appears to be taste,” Cassie stated, walking into the motel bedroom from the bathroom. 

            Deanna jumped slightly and wolf-whistled. Cassie was wearing a backless floor-length dress that was the exact same shade of blue as her eyes. She looked uncertain, nervously touching her hair and rubbing the strap to one of the heels in her hand.

            “You look gorgeous, Cassie,” Deanna breathed, staring openly. The angel blushed.

            “I feel overdressed,” she said, gesturing to Deanna and Sami in their plaid and denim.

            “Give me a second,” Deanna said, marching into the bathroom with her garment bag. She stuck her head out a few minutes later.

            “Hey, can someone help me zip this?” she asked, turning around. Cassie was beside her in an instant. Deanna was wearing a dark green, strapless gown, with what may or may not have been real diamonds embroidered across the bodice. She looked uncomfortable.

            “You are beautiful,” Cassie whispered in the hunter’s ear as she zipped the back of the dress, fingers lingering lightly on Deanna’s bare skin. The sound of Sami opening her garment bag caused them both to start and slide apart. Sami’s dress was a deep purple, with straps that would crisscross across her back and what looked to be a rather large amethyst sewn onto the front.

            “Let’s get this over with,” she said resignedly, trying to look as if she loathed the dress. But Deanna knew she loved it; it was the most expensive thing she had ever gotten to wear. 

***

            “Well, I guess we’re at the right address,” Sami remarked, gawking at the size of the mansion before them.

            Deanna carefully parked the Impala well away from the valet, not wanting anyone to see the car.

            “Crowley’s not expecting us to do this on our own, is she? I mean, she gave us those pictures, but…” Deanna trailed off, scanning every inch of the lantern-lit driveway for the Queen of Hell.

            A woman in a black and red dress caught her eye and motioned for Deanna to come over. Deanna’s first thought was that this woman looked both attractive and familiar. Her next thought was that she wanted to drink until that first thought went away.

            “Hello, girls,” Crowley said.

            “Can we get this over with?” Deanna uttered, dully, echoing her sister’s earlier thought.

            Crowley gave a half shrug and turned on her heel. The hunters and the angel followed. The mansion in which the party was being held was decorated with white candles and rose petals. Waiters with trays of champagne flutes carefully navigated the crowd of expensively dressed partygoers.

            “Isn’t this just overkill?” Deanna gestured nonspecifically around her as she snagged a champagne flute and drained it in a matter of seconds. Sami was carefully taking in the scene around them, and Cassie looked overwhelmed. Crowley was nursing her own champagne and staring rather intently at some of the candles.

            Sami noticed the demon’s concentration. “What’re you…?” Sami began as the orange flames dancing on the wicks rapidly turned colors, from green to purple to blood red.

            “We’re trying to draw the attention of people with magic. Most people don’t know magic until it’s ripping their souls from their bodies. Let’s see who notices,” Crowley explained, causing the flames to burn bright white and grow.

            Deanna and Sami looked at each other and shrugged. So long as Crowley didn’t kill anyone, they were fine.

            “There,” said Cassie after a moment, pointing towards a woman in a red dress with Celtic knots on it. She was watching Crowley’s candle tricks intently.

            “There and there,” Sami nodded, “I recognize them from the papers Crowley gave us.” She gestured towards a man in a perfectly tailored tuxedo who was wearing some kind of Egyptian-style amulet. He was standing next to another woman who had a decorated mask covering half her face.

            “I didn’t know this was a masquerade,” Deanna muttered, scanning the crowd until she spotted the last man. His tuxedo was trimmed and lined with what looked like red silk.

            “Shall we take this back outside?  Might get messy,” Crowley whispered, darkness in her eyes dancing as she moved slowly back towards the door. The candle flames flickered and shifted colors to follow her as she went. The others trailed behind, keeping careful eyes on the four people who followed them.

            No one spoke until they were about ten feet away from the mansion. Crowley stopped suddenly, and Deanna almost ran into her. The demon was muttering something very quickly under her breath. Deanna and Sami carefully drew pistols from well-concealed holsters on their ankles while Cassie summoned her sword.

            “So,” drawled the man with the amulet, “You must be the Winchesters.”

            “Yeah, and who the hell are you?” Deanna barked, leveling her gun at him.

            “Not exactly,” he smirked, while the woman with the mask giggled.

            Cassie reached out and grabbed Deanna’s arm suddenly.

            “That’s not going to help you,” she whispered, nodding at the gun.

            “What?” Deanna hissed.

            “They’re gods, Deanna. Not witches or demons. Gods,” Cassie intoned.

            “Oh, really?” Sami said loudly, having overheard, “And why would gods be kidnapping and killing people? Bad year for sacrifices?”

            The man in the red and black tuxedo glared at Sami, and she doubled over in pain.

            “You’re really quite obtuse, aren’t you?” he smirked.

            “Now, Hades, that’s not an entirely fair assessment. I think they’re actual quite capable. Of banishing ghosts and fairies,” said the woman in red, her words spoken with an Irish accent.

            “Hades?” Deanna addressed the question to the man, “If you’re Hades, then who…?”

            “Oh, how inconsiderate of us. Of course, you’re so uncultured, you wouldn’t know,” said the masked woman, her voice soft and Nordic accented, “I am Hel. This is, naturally, Hades, Osiris, and Morrigan.”

            Sami paled as she leaned on her sister, “Deanna. They’re four deities of death and the underworld. We need to get out of here."

            Cassie carefully placed a hand on each sister, ready to whisk them away.

            “I wouldn’t leave just yet,” came a carefully controlled voice from behind them.

            The hunters and angel glanced at Crowley, who looked more murderous than any of them had ever seen her. The Queen of Hell snapped her fingers, and a ring of black fire sprang up around the four gods.

            “Why are you here?” Crowley’s voice was biting and icy.

            “Why should we tell you?” Osiris countered, glaring at her, “I think you already know.”

            Crowley closed her eyes and exhaled purposefully. Tendrils of dark flame wrapped themselves around the gods, who looked pained.

            “Tell me. Now,” her voice rose to a shout on the last word.

            “I know you are well aware of how easy it is to kill humans. The problem was killing the right humans. That shopping complex is built right over a crossroads, so your little soul stealers still frequent it. We needed to kill someone who was in the middle of making a deal so that a crossroads demon would come running. Unfortunately for you, the first one we caught was even more of an idiot than our present company. The second one, though, the second one knew how to find you. Little did we know that you’d come poking around after we killed those demons,” Hades hissed.

            “The Queen of Hell. That was my title. My name,” Hel snarled.

            “As it was once mine,” Morrigan intoned.

            Osiris said nothing; he simply continued to glare.

            “We came together, four dethroned kings and queens, to take back what once was ours. A creature like you has no place ruling the damned of the underworld,” Hades barked, squirming free of some of the flames.

            Crowley was shaking slightly as she listened. She whistled, and a loud barking growl came from behind the gods.

            “Sorry, mates. The position’s full,” she quipped quietly as the gods broke her spell and tried to charge her. The hellhound threw them back long enough for the demon to grab ahold of Sami as Cassie flew them away.

***

            The four women landed awkwardly in the floor of a motel room some two hundred miles away from where they had been.

            “We won’t be able to lose them for long,” Cassie said, marking wards around the room as she spoke.

            Crowley tiredly snapped her fingers and runes in an evil looking script mingled with Cassie’s.

            “Where are we, Cassie? And wait…Baby. We left Baby with the gods,” Deanna’s voice rose in a panic as she started to hyperventilate.

            “We, or more specifically, I, almost got torn to nothing by four gods with sticks way, way up their asses, and you’re worried about your fucking car?” Crowley snapped at Deanna.

            “I should never have agreed to work with you. Never. You knew all along, didn’t you? That something was after you, specifically. Not just your demons,” Deanna strode angrily towards the Queen of Hell.

            “I had a hunch,” Crowley admitted, “What’s it to you? You’re so self-righteous, Deanna. Acting as though all you care about is saving poor, defenseless humans from us dark, lethal monsters. How many humans have you killed who were being possessed by demons, hmm? Do you ever think about that?”

            “You fucking bitch,” Deanna screamed, drawing a knife.

            Crowley lifted a finger and Deanna was thrown backwards, almost ripping her dress.

            “Stop. Now. Both of you,” Sami said, desperately, “We have much, much bigger issues right now. Dea, I’m sure the car will be fine. Crowley, you did trick us. Sort of.”

            “Sami,” Deanna started. Cassie put a hand on her shoulder, helping her up and silencing her.

            “Please, stop, Deanna. I’ll go get the car,” Cassie whispered in Deanna’s ear.

            “Cas…” Deanna muttered, but the angel was gone. The hunter blinked rapidly, “I need a shower. And a drink.” She stalked into the bathroom and slammed the door.

            Sami and Crowley looked at each other for a long moment.

            “So…” Sami began, “I don’t suppose you have any idea how we kill four gods at once? I assume they’ve linked their powers somehow, so I don’t think it’ll do us a lot of good just to try and kill one of them.”

            Crowley snorted. “Any way that doesn’t involve us nobly sacrificing ourselves for the cause? Nothing that doesn’t cost me dozens of demons, or worse, immediately springs to mind.”

            “Well,” Sami said, “We need to do research. There’s got to be some way. Uh, I don’t suppose you could give me a laptop? And other clothing?” She gave Crowley a sidelong look.

            Crowley sighed and snapped her fingers. Two laptops, a massive stack of books, three bottles of scotch, and a pile of clothes appeared on the table. Sami blinked, and the demon was once again wearing her usual black.

            “Thanks,” Sami muttered awkwardly.

            “Here,” Crowley said, flicking a finger and causing a glass of scotch to slide towards Sami. “Drink up, Moose. We’re in for a long night.”

***

            Cassie returned a few hours later. Sami was nursing her fifth cup of coffee, and Crowley was on her last bottle of scotch. Scribbled notes and dog-eared books littered the room. Deanna appeared to be sleeping on one of the two beds present, with her back to the chaos.

            “Did you get the car?” Sami asked her

            Cassie nodded, looking bedraggled. Deanna sighed and fidgeted slightly. The angel moved next to her and readjusted the blanket on the hunter. She then leaned down and whispered something in Deanna’s ear before lightly kissing her on the cheek and quietly moving the one unoccupied armchair to the side of Deanna’s bed. Cassie’s overprotectiveness made Sami smile. Crowley seemed to take no notice of anything going on around her.

            There was dead quiet in the room for the next several hours. Sami eventually nodded off, falling asleep on top of three open books. Cassie remained motionless next to Deanna, eyes half-closed as she sorted through millions of years of knowledge, trying to find something that would help. At a few minutes after five in the morning, she thought of it.

            “Crowley,” Cassie said quietly, “You wouldn’t happen to know the whereabouts of the Roots of Yggdrasil?”

            “That’s one of Heaven’s weapons. Why would I know anything about it?” the demon murmured, eyes not moving from the screen of the laptop in front of her.

            “Because they were one of the things that Balthazar took when she raided Heaven during our last civil war. And I’m sure they ended up for sale somewhere after…” Cassie let the thought trail off and looked away.

            “After you murdered your sister?” Crowley asked, scathingly, “Yes. If I’m recalling correctly. They did end up on the supernatural black market. Though I don’t know their present whereabouts. And…” She stopped and jumped to her feet.

            “Move, Moose,” she said, shoving the sleeping Sami off the books. Sami feel to the ground with abundant swearing.

            “Here. Right here. I don’t think anyone’s used this spell in ages, if ever. It’s meant to take away magic, temporarily. You mix the blood of an angel, a demon, and a human with some...other things. Let it cook under a full moon, then shove it into the veins of whatever you’re trying to kill. On a god, it’ll probably work for fifteen seconds, if we’re lucky,” Crowley explained. “And if a blood-covered wooden stake can take out one god, the Roots of Yggdrasil covered in this, should be able to kill four at once, if Sami’s assumption about them being linked is right.”

            “That’s a hell of a lot of hypotheticals,” came Deanna’s voice from the bed.

            “If you’ve managed to dream up a better plan, please, share with the class,” Crowley said, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

            “The next full moon’s not for three weeks,” Sami said, “We have to last three weeks without them finding us.”

            “Well, we should probably get moving then,” Deanna said, standing and stretching, “I’ll be in the car.” She squeezed Cassie’s hand as the angel handed her the keys to the Impala.

***

            “You didn’t have to blow up the parking lot,” Deanna sighed, exasperated.

            Crowley shot her a look. “It was the fastest diversion I could think of that didn’t kill anyone, since you’re so against that.”

            “We got away. And no one died. And the full moon’s tomorrow,” Sami said to her sister. Deanna’s response was to grunt and floor the gas pedal.

            “We’ve driven all over the entire god damn country. And every couple of days, they find us. We might be able to make that spell work, but we still haven’t tracked down the Roots of Yggdrasil,” Deanna growled.

            “Which isn’t really unsurprising considering I’ve had to go underground, so I can’t contact any of my usual people. All we have is speculation on the Internet. Which is so very reliable, as we know. If those four find out what we’re after and get to it first, none of this will matter,” Crowley snapped back.

            “Cas, could you ask around Heaven again? I know you don’t have many friends up there, but…” Sami inquired.

            “I can try,” the angel replied, vanishing.

            “Crowley…your contacts. Are they all demons?” Deanna asked, “Or are any of them humans who made deals?”

            “Some of them are still humans. Why?” Crowley responded.

            “Because gods think humans are very, very beneath them. I know. I’ve run into my fair share of those arrogant douchebags. Those humans, they’re people with power, money, influence, that kind of thing?” Deanna continued.

            “Yes…” Crowley answered, a small smile slowly crossing her lips.

            “Any of them collect antiques or have…interests or hobbies that might be related to this stuff?” Deanna tried to keep any trace of hope from her voice.

            “It’s quite possible. When people make a deal for money, they tend to blow it on rather idiotic things,” Crowley said, also trying to keep her tone neutral, “And, before you ask, I sincerely doubt the Fantastic Four are keeping tabs on them, despite the fact that they made deals with me. Soulless humans are even more useless to them than any other humans.”

            “Who do you think would be the mostly likely to be interested in antiques and mythology?” Deanna asked.

            Crowley thought for a moment. “There are two people. One’s currently the darling of a rather prestigious academic journal. And the other…” She made a face.

            “The other?” Sami prodded.

            “The other is completely obsessed with magic. That’s what she sold her soul for. Magic. I’d say Professor Perfect is more likely. But she might also know…something. Whether it’s the truth or not, I couldn’t tell you. She wasn’t exactly sane when she made the deal. I sincerely doubt she’s gotten any better. Oh, and if you’re going to try to contact them, I won’t be anywhere near you. Just in case,” Crowley explained.

            “Just in case…?” Sami asked.

            “Just in case I am wrong and the Fantastic Four are watching. Here’re the addresses for those dealmakers,” Crowley withdrew a piece of paper from her coat pocket. “I wouldn’t hold out too much hope. No matter how much power and influence someone might have, these kind of things usually come down to dumb luck. Though, you two do have the ‘dumb’ part down pretty solidly.” A quick half smirk later, she had vanished.

            “Why did you want dealmakers, specifically, Dea? We’ve already asked around at universities and auction houses. We’ve summoned spirits. None of those people knew anything. What makes you think these two will be any different?” Sami asked her sister.

            “Because we’re looking for something with magical properties. We’re asking people who already know magic is real and what it can do. Instead of looking for a bunch of millennia old sticks, we can explain exactly what we’re after. I don’t like the idea of dealing with people who were willing to give up everything just for some money and prestige, but we’re out of other options. This might help us finally narrow down where this weapon is, instead of all points nowhere,” Deanna explained, pulling the car into a gas station.

             “Hey, Cas?” Deanna mumbled as she took care of her car, “You wanna rejoin us?”

            The angel was next to Deanna in the blink of an eye.

            “I don’t suppose you heard anything?” Sami asked.

            “Nothing, I’m afraid,” Cassie shook her head.

            “It’s ok. We think we’ve got something that might work. Problem is, we don’t have time to drive to both of these places. Think you could zap Sami to see Professor Soulless, while we handle Sabrina the Brain-damaged Witch?” Deanna asked.

            “Shouldn’t be a problem. If Sami is agreeable,” Cassie looked at the younger hunter.

            “I think I can handle one human on my own. Zap away,” Sami said, carefully patting her pockets to check for her weapons. With a nod, Cassie carefully positioned herself so that Sami was hidden from the view of anyone who might have been watching by the angel and the gas pump. Half a second later, Sami was gone.

            “Well, let’s get going,” Deanna said, smiling slightly at Cassie. The hunter pecked the angel on the cheek and got into the car.

***

            “Dr. Veracruz? Do you have a minute?” Sami called, fingering the gun in her hand.

            “I’m a bit preoccupied at the moment. If it’s about the midterm, I’ll be holding special office hours next week?” came the muffled response behind the office door.

            “Oh, it’s not about the midterm. I would say it’s about something more important, but considering you’ve already sold your soul, I don’t really think it matters anymore,” Sami said, dryly, as she burst into his office.

            Dr. Veracruz was not a very impressive looking man, and he paled and shrunk back noticeably from Sami.

            “Who are you? You’re not…you’re not one of them, are you?” his voice was shaky.

            “Am I a demon? No. I’m the person who usually kills demons. And dealmakers like you make me sick,” Sami said, leveling her gun at the professor.

            “Please, I have quite a bit of money. I can give you whatever you want,” Veracruz pleaded.

            “Not what I’m here for,” Sami said, glaring at him. “You made a deal with the Queen of Hell for fame and fortune. You’re the foremost expert in your field now.”

            Veracruz swayed slightly. Clearly Crowley hadn’t told him exactly who she was.

            “The…what?” he stammered, “I…”

            Sami cut him off, “Have your mental breakdown later. I need to know if you know anything about things called the Roots of Yggdrasil.”

            “Sorry?” he blinked rapidly.

            “Thousands of years old pieces of wood from the Nordic area with magical properties. I don’t know if they go by any other name, but…” Sami shrugged slightly.

            “I’ve never heard of anything called by that name or fitting that description,” Veracruz said, “I’m sorry, but…”

            Sami cocked her gun, “Not what I wanted to hear. You’re clever. So clever that the Queen of Hell herself wanted to make a deal with you. I would bet you’ve heard something. Maybe you didn’t know it was something. Think hard.”

            “There’s maybe, I don’t know. I’ve heard stories of a Native American tribe in the Midwest. They went out searching for firewood one night and found large strangely shaped sticks. When they tried to light them on fire, the sticks blew up, and the entire tribe was killed. I always assumed it was just remnants of shotguns and gunpowder. That’s all I’ve got. Please, please don’t kill me,” Veracruz pleaded.

            Sami lowered her weapon, “If that’s really all you’ve got, I’ll take it. Enjoy the next ten years. I hope the hellhounds rip you to shreds.”

***

            “There’s crazy…and then there’s this,” Deanna said to Cassie, pointing to the massive overgrown herb garden in front of the home of one Arwen Foxfire.

            “This chick legally changed her name, made a deal, and now practices seriously heavy magic. There’s something very, very wrong with that,” Deanna shook her head.

            “You use magic too, Deanna,” Cassie reminded her.

            “Yeah. When I have to. But never like this. Let’s just get this over with,” Deanna trailed off, muttering a series of curses against Arwen, Crowley, and the world overall.

            The angel and the hunter navigated their way to the front door of the house. Moving aside a vine, Deanna found the doorbell. With a final eye roll, she pressed the button. The sound of Saint-Saën’s _Danse Macabre_ echoed around them. Deanna and Cassie exchanged a look and tried to keep from snickering. The woman who answered the door looked to be about the same age as Sami or Deanna. Her eyes flicked quickly across the women who stood on her doorstep.

            “An angel and a hunter! To what do I owe the pleasure?” her voice was high pitched.

            “How did you…?” Deanna started to ask.

            “Oh, I see and know all sorts of things. It’s why I’m such a good witch!” Arwen cackled.

            “I’m starting to understand why Crowley made a deal with her,” Cassie whispered to Deanna. Deanna grunted in response.

            “Well,” Deanna said, turning to Arwen, “We need some help locating a weapon. A magical weapon.”

            “I can do magic! Weapons, though…oh! And where are my manners, please, enter,” Arwen stepped back to let them in.

            “We’re looking for something called the Roots of Yggdrasil. No one alive…or dead,” Deanna added, looking askance at Cassie, “Has been able to help us so far. Do you know anything?”

            “Nope!” Arwen said happily, “But I could try using my powers to find out!”

            “Ok…” Deanna said, skeptically

            Arwen started chanting, and the hair on the back of Deanna’s neck stood up.

            “Is that...Enochian?” the hunter asked Cassie.

            “Yes,” murmured the angel, “Mixed with…something else.” Cassie swayed slightly and started to sweat.

            “Cassie?” Deanna was very concerned.

            “That…other language. No one’s supposed to know how to speak it. Lucifer created it, using Enochian as a base,” she panted, coughing.

            “Do you think that’s why Crowley made a deal with her?” Deanna asked.

            “More than likely. Demons would love to relearn it, I’m sure. It’s fallen out of fashion since Lucifer was locked in the cage,” Cassie chocked out.

            Deanna clung to the angel and muttered reassurances as Arwen’s eyes rolled back in her head.

            “Wayward souls bought and sold

            Mixed with the blood of old

            Five stars sparkling in the night

            Leading to the path called right

            What once was lost, in time will be

            Not found if it was up to me,” cackled whatever was speaking through Arwen. It sounded like thousands of voices chanting in unison.

            Arwen’s body started shaking as she laughed manically and foamed at the mouth.

            “Right. We’re getting the hell out of here. Now,” Deanna put Cassie’s arm around her shoulder and half ran them both back out to the car.

            “I don’t think that was any help. At all. Jesus,” Deanna turned to Cassie, who was leaning back against the seat with her eyes closed, breathing heavily.

            “Hey. Cas. What do you need? What can I do?” Deanna grabbed the angel’s hand.

            “Just…time. I’ll be all right,” Cassie smiled weakly.

            Deanna refused to let Cassie’s hand go until they were back at the latest motel. Once the angel had her strength back, she fetched Sami, and the three of them regrouped.

***

            Deanna threw a match into the pot and watched the flames shoot towards the ceiling as Cassie healed the cut across her palm. Crowley appeared before them, looking tired.

            “Well?” the Queen of Hell asked.

            “Interesting people you choose to make deals with,” Deanna remarked.

            “Yeah. Veracruz didn’t even know who you were. And from what Deanna’s said, I doubt Arwen was in her right mind when she summoned a crossroads demon,” Sami glared at Crowley.

            “Yes, well. I make deals with people I think will prove useful to me, in about ten years’ time. Did either of them have any good leads, or are we just as royally fucked as we were three weeks ago?” Crowley demanded.

            “Honestly? We have no idea,” Sami said, reiterated what the professor had told her and reciting Arwen’s riddle for Crowley.

            The demon got a perplexed look on her face as Sami spoke and started muttering the riddle over and over to herself. She rapped a knuckle on the desk in the motel room, and a map and a marker appeared on top of it. Still whispering to herself, Crowley started to draw x’s all over the map. A few minutes later, she stopped, and with a flick of a finger, caused the map to rise into the air.

            “Here’s the location of every set of crossroads in the continental U.S. Hence, the ‘wayward souls being sold’ bit. Now, if Veracruz’s hunch is right, we’re looking for some place in the Midwest. So we can ignore…” she snapped her fingers and several of the x’s vanished. “Those. I have an inkling what the five stars bit means too. If you stretch it, you can draw a five-pointed star between these locations. So, in addition to my finding a new gate of Hell, possibly that’s where we should look for the Roots.”

            Crowley’s speech was met with silence. Sami and Deanna blinked rapidly.

            “We’ve got nothing else. Let’s go,” the demon said, putting a hand on each hunter. Cassie grabbed Deanna’s arm as they got whisked away.

***

            “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Deanna said, looking like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to cry or laugh.

            “Is that…seriously?” Sami asked.

            Crowley was too busy laughing to answer them immediately.

            “Apparently, they’ve built a Walmart over a Hell gate. And, possibly, the Roots of Yggdrasil are here. Somewhere,” the Queen of Hell looked far too delighted.

            “Well, come on. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover,” Deanna said, starting to move towards the store.

            “Hang on,” Cassie called to her, “I want to try something.”

            Cassie narrowed her eyes at a spot above the palm of her hand. Her fingertips started to glow. She cautiously moved her hand, and the light dimmed and grew brighter, depending on where she held it.

            “It’s a God weapon, and I’m still, for all intents and purposes, an angel. I might be able to track it,” she said.

            The hunters and demon shrugged and followed the angel as she moved, using her hand like a kind of detector. The walked about three miles southwest of the Walmart, until Cassie suddenly stopped as if she had run into a barrier. Deanna and Sami followed suit, and Crowley trailed back.

            “There’s something here. But I can’t…” she tried to use a hand to break down whatever was blocking her.

            Crowley tentatively reached out a hand herself, and everyone watched as it slid past Cassie’s.

            “Hmm. No wings allowed, it seems,” Crowley muttered, walking forward.

            “Do you see anything?” Sami called to her.

            “Amazingly enough, yes,” came Crowley’s voice from behind them.

            Hovering above the hands of the Queen of Hell were black lengths of wood, with every shade of brown imaginable twisting through their centers.

            “I’m betting my life that these are what we need. Shall we kill some gods?” she asked, starting to walk back the way they came.

            The hunters and the angel looked at each other. With luck, everything would be over in a couple of days.

***

            “That’s not how you spell ‘indefatigable,’” Crowley remarked, glancing at her phone.

            “Would you shut up? It’s my turn to go in Words with Friends. Pipe down,” Sami said, irritated.

            Deanna and Cassie exchanged a significant glance.

            “How long do you think it’ll take them to find us?” Deanna asked the angel.

            “Not very long, if they…” a loud crash caught the rest of Cassie’s words.

            Crowley and Sami stowed their phones. All four calmly armed themselves with their spelled blood covered sticks.

            “Showtime,” Crowley grinned, evilly.

            Hades, Hel, Morrigan, and Osiris appeared before them, looking exceptionally pissed off.

            “I call Hades,” Crowley said over her shoulder.

            “I’ve got Hel,” said Sami.

            “I’ll take Morrigan,” Deanna muttered.

            “I’ll handle Osiris, then,” Cassie intoned.

            “Well, the so-called Queen of Hell running scared to humans and an angel. How pathetic,” Hades drawled.

            “Oh, I’ll run. But I’m never scared,” Crowley said, lunging at him.

            The entire fight was a bloody mess. Hades managed to get a very nice swipe across Crowley’s back, slicing open her clothing and skin. The wounds didn’t immediately heal. Osiris had Cassie backed up against the Impala, and she was keeping him at bay with the Root and her sword. Sami and Deanna were back to back, fending off blows. Both were pretty well bloodied. Deanna caught Crowley’s eye at the same time Sami caught Cassie’s. All four nodded and moved suddenly. This was it. The crux of their plan. They would only get surprise on their side once. The Roots of Yggdrasil pierced the hearts of the four stunned gods at almost the exact same moment.

            “Please,” half-prayed the four women in unison.

            An eerie blue light flowed from the Roots, connecting the four gods, who, slowly, seemed to dissolve within it. The light shot to the sky, and the magic threw Deanna, Sami, Cassie, and Crowley to the ground. Sami and Crowley carefully got to their feet. Deanna rolled so that she landed on top of Cassie and kissed the angel deeply. The two of them didn’t move for several moments, eventually helping each other to their feet.

            “Well, all things considered, that could have ended much worse for us,” Crowley remarked as she dusted off her clothing, freezing when she saw the gun Deanna had pointed at her.

            The hunter and the Queen of Hell looked at each other for a long moment, both recalling the conversation that had initiated their arrangement. No one moved or said a word.

            “Oh, fine,” said Deanna, eventually lowering the weapon. “The next time we see each other, I’m taking the shot. I owe you an ass-kicking.”

            “Wouldn’t have it any other way. Girls,” Crowley nodded at them as she vanished.

            Deanna muttered imprecations as her sister and Cassie followed her back to the car.

            “We’re alive, Deanna. Cheer up,” Sami remarked, purposefully changing the radio to a Top 40 Hits station.

            Deanna shot her a look that could have melted lead, and Cassie laughed slightly to herself in the backseat as the three women drove away.


End file.
